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Secondary forests (also known as second-growth forests) are forests produced by secondary succession after some form of major disturbance or perturbation. Over time, secondary forests may proceed, through succession, to a point at which they are indistinguishable from primary forests. These processes may require exceeding long time-scales. Outside of parts of the boreal and tropical zones, most remaining forests are secondary forests.
Secondary forests can arise through a variety of natural or anthropogenic disturbances including wildfire, logging, hurricanes and the abandonment of agricultural land.
The term "secondary forest" is usually only applied to forests which re-grow spontaneously. Forests that originate from planted trees (plantation forests) are usually considered distinct from secondary forests. Enrichment plantings in areas of spontaneous regeneration are often considered secondary forests.[1]